Open Source Initiative

Since it has been roughly one year since the newest board members were chosen, I'd like to put on my new hat as chair of the License Committee and recap some license committee highlights from this past year.

Some things that got done:

The OSI board, which meets in person at least twice per annum, has selected Washington D.C. as the location for the Spring 2013 Board of Directors Meeting. The city serves as a central location for gathering the OSI's geographically diverse board membership. It is also considered a location of open source policy dialog and debate as well as high-profile implementations within US federal government operations.

Former OSI Board member Danese Cooper writes:

One of the pillars of the Indian FOSS Community passed away this week. Known for his humor, his uncompromising honesty and his generosity in sharing FOSS knowledge with like-minded individuals. His sudden passing after a massive heart attack has shocked and saddened his friends across the FOSS World.

Following discussions about the Open Source and Open Source Hardware logos, OSI and the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) have worked together to compose a co-existence agreement on behalf of their representative communities. We are pleased to announce that this document (PDF) has been approved and signed by both parties!

The OSI Board has approved Affiliate membership for the following organisations:

We just received confirmation that OSI's request to be added as a signatory to the Declaration of Internet Freedom has been accepted. We endorse this Declaration and encourage authorities worldwide to embrace it and implement regulations protecting the principles it espouses.

Just to make sure that everyone knows, this "OpenSource" user on Google Plus posts links to interesting Open Source software, and has nothing to do with us. When they talk about "members" they mean people who have circled them. Nothing to do with our membership program. Share and enjoy!

The OSI Board is very pleased to announce that five significant organisations have applied for and been granted Affiliate Membership of the Open Source Initiative, including the first User Group.

As part of the OSI’s governance reform, we are planning to establish a mechanism for individuals to join the OSI. We recently conducted a survey to ask people about their interest in joining, and to learn some preferences about how best to proceed. We received more than 350 replies to the survey, which was initially announced at FOSDEM in February 2012. The respondents came from many different countries, and had widely differing experiences with open source software. We are grateful to those who took the time to participate in the survey.